Digital ThinkIn – How We Live Next: what does Amazon know?

Wednesday 27 May 2020

Duration: 6:30PM - 7:30PM

Status: Completed

Jeff Bezos is investing all $4bn of Amazon’s anticipated second quarter profits into growth. His intention is to build, as Scott Galloway puts it, “the world’s first vaccinated supply chain” and set it on a path to become the world’s first $2trillion company. A global, virus-free, super-efficient supply chain that can deliver whatever we may need safely to our homes sounds thrilling and terrifying. If knowledge is power, Amazon is clearly amongst the most powerful entities on the planet right now. But is now the time to break Amazon up – or does the world need it more than ever?

Chair: Alexi Mostrous, Editor and Partner, Tortoise

Our special guests include:

Alice Enders, Head of Research at Enders Analysis, which provides a subscription research service covering the media, entertainment, mobile and fixed telecommunications industries in Europe, with a special focus on new technologies and media. Alice undertakes landmark research on the challenges and opportunities for creative industries in the digital age. Alice supplies consultancy services on music, licensing and B2B media. She is a former senior economist at the World Trade Organisation and was professor of economics at York University, Canada. Alice holds a doctorate in economics from Queens University, Canada.

Franklin Foer, a staff writer at The Atlantic and former editor of The New Republic, commentating on contemporary issues from a liberal perspective. In 2017, Frank published World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech, which was named a New York Times notable book of 2017. Using Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple as case studies, World Without Mind argues for a closer examination for the role of technology in our lives, particularly the ways it is shaping the values of individuals globally.

Zachary Karabell, a New York-born author, columnist and investor who previously served as Head of Global Strategies at Envestnet, a publicly traded financial services firm. He currently hosts the podcast “What Could Go Right?” and analyses economic and political trends as president of River Twice Research.